Too late to begin US applications? & profile evaluation

hoboglove

I have a question about where I should be applying. I always told myself that I would go to the best school to which I could gain admission, provided its program was a good fit for my career goals.

I had planned to attend Rotman in Toronto as the program has an excellent Health/Pharma/Biotech stream, but when I received my GMAT scores I started to wonder whether I should be aiming a little higher.

Here are my stats:
GMAT: 740 (45Q / 46V)
Overall Undergraduate GPA (BSc. Laboratory Medicine Top Canadian School): 3.3
Work Experience: 3 years in public health, the last of which was spent as a Lean Design / Six Sigma project manager. 2 Years in private research lab doing research.
Extracurricular Activities: University athlete (Rugby), Worked 2 jobs while in school, Outdoor leader
Personal Facts: Lived in: Canada, US (Texas), Holland, Denmark, Malta
Interests: Fly fishing, Golf, Guitar

Should I consider waiting a year and then applying to top 10 US schools? Is it too late to apply for next year? My concern is that if I wait and do not get accepted that I will have “wasted” a year when I could be studying at a Canadian school.

Thank you in advance for your time.

Lisa Anderson · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:16 pm Post subject:

Dear hoboglove,

If you want to go to school next year (starting in fall 2009), then you need to get your applications in as soon as possible. You could definitely apply to almost any program you feel is a good match as your profile appears competitive based on your post. I would not discount Rotman just because you did better on the GMAT than you thought. Rotman is a great school that you have already determined matches your career goals. Perhaps spend a few days doing some research on other possible programs and then get to work on submitting strong applications? Regardless of where you apply, your GMAT will not get you on offer on its own; you also need to present a strong overall application including good essays, recommendations and interviews.

Good luck,
Lisa

hoboglove · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 8:23 pm Post subject:

Thanks Lisa,

Could you recommend a few US programs that have strong health care focused specializations?